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SCRIPTURE
Joseph F. Wimmer, O.S.A.
Original Sin
The Pope on Evolution
When Pope John Paul II sent a message
about evolution to the Pontifical Academy
of Sciences on October 22, 1996, it was the
first time that a papal document clearly endorsed evolution as “more than a hypothesis,” stating that “the convergence, neither
sought nor provoked, of the results of
work that was conducted independently is
in itself a significant argument in favor of
this theory” (#4, Origins, December 5,
1996, 414–16). The pontiff hastened to add
that materialist and reductionist theories
of evolution were not acceptable and that
the spiritual soul of all humans is “immediately” created by God.
Grace, Concupiscence, and
Original Sin
The most recent official Catholic statement about grace is found in the Joint
Declaration on Justification signed by
Cardinal Edward Cassidy and the head of
the Lutheran World Federation on October
31, 1999: “Together we confess: By grace
alone [italics mine], in faith in Christ’s
saving work and not because of any merit
on our part, are we accepted by God and
receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our
hearts while equipping and calling us to
good works” (#15, Origins, July 16, 1998,
120–27). On concupiscence: [After baptism]
“there does, however, remain in the person
an inclination (concupiscence) which comes
from sin and presses toward sin . . . and
. . . this inclination does not correspond to
God’s original design for humanity. . . .”
(#30). Three points seem to be essential:
(a) all humans need grace in order to be
accepted by God, (b) their hearts must be
renewed, and (c) they are still subject to
concupiscence, an inclination toward sin.
Genesis 2–3 Not Historical
Spurred on by Pope Pius XII’s 1943
encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu and
Vatican II’s Dei Verbum, urging them to be
aware of literary forms in ancient literature, exegetes have come to see that the
first eleven chapters of Genesis are not historical, but serve as a sort of theological
prologue to the story of Abraham and the
Joseph F. Wimmer, O.S.A., is associate professor of Scared Scripture at the Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C.
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patriarchs. Comparison with the Babylonian Enuma Elish, the Epic of Gilgamesh,
and especially the Epic of Atrahasis, shows
many common literary motifs and allows
us to conclude that the story of Adam and
Eve is a mythical narrative used by the
sacred writer to answer basic questions
about life, especially human sinfulness.
Where did sin come from? Not from God,
but from the misuse of human freedom.
Genesis 2–3 is a tale set in primordial time,
time before time, “once upon a time.” It is
parabolic in nature, and does not tell us
what happened on a particular occasion,
but rather what happens always and
everywhere, the human condition.
human sinfulness and salvation through
Christ. Adam is representative of all human
beings, and Jesus is the source of grace,
salvation, and justification for all.
The Greek Fathers
In describing the task of Christ, the Greek
Fathers generally emphasized the Incarnation, his becoming human so that humans
might become divine, that is, that we
might become elevated through grace to be
in communion with God. As noted above,
this is still the teaching of the Church
today.
St. Augustine
Evil Inclination or Yetzer Hara’
Jews do not have a doctrine of original
sin. Instead, they have the concept of an
“evil inclination,” yetzer hara’, which, like
concupiscence, is a human tendency to sin.
The expression is found in Genesis 6:5, the
“evil desire” of the heart that led to the
Flood, and again in Genesis 8:21, God’s
declaration that he would not cause
another Flood because “the desires of the
human heart are evil from the start.” The
Hebrew Bible is, however, acutely aware
that no one is without sin: 1 Kings 8:46,
Ecclesiastes 7:20, Proverbs 20:9, and elsewhere.
Romans 5
St. Paul’s remarks in Romans 5:12-21 are
the real seeds of the doctrine of original
sin in Christianity. He contrasts the figure
of Adam, the “first man,” who led us into
sinfulness, with Christ, the “last Adam,”
who freed us from sin by his death on the
cross. Although much was made of this
text by St. Augustine, exegetes today point
out that the historical reality of Adam is
here presupposed, as it was by most people
until the recent discovery of evolution, and
not taught. What is taught is universal
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The Pelagians taught that humans could
work out their own salvation by using free
will. If they sinned, they simply followed
the bad example of Adam, the first sinner,
but there was no deleterious influence on
them from without which would urge them
to sin. This teaching contradicted Augustine’s personal experience and understanding of the Bible, and he coined the Latin
expression peccatum originale (“original
sin”) to emphasize the full effects of Adam’s
sin on all humanity. He quoted Romans
5:12 in its Latin form, which stated that sin
came into the world with Adam, “in
whom” (in quo) all have sinned. How did
they sin? Adam committed the originating
original sin, and all others are under the
guilt of that same sin, originated original
sin, through propagation. The result of
original sin is loss of grace, death, and
concupiscence, an abiding inclination to
turn from God. Sexual desire is part of it,
but it goes beyond that. Humans are a
massa damnata and deserve to be cast into
hell. Were it not for the saving grace of
Christ, communicated through faith and
baptism, they would be. Under Augustine’s
influence, the Pelagians were condemned
by the Council of Orange in A.D. 529.
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The Council of Trent
Over a thousand years later, in 1546, the
Council of Trent essentially repeated what
the Council of Orange had said. Trent published five canons pertaining to original
sin. Most important among them is canon
3, that the sin of Adam is communicated to
all “by propagation and not by imitation”
and can be taken away only by “the one
mediator, our Lord Jesus Christ,” through
the sacrament of baptism, also baptism of
desire, in voto. Canon 5 decreed that “concupiscence or the tendency to sin remains
in the baptized,” but can be overcome by
those who resist courageously through the
grace of Christ.
Contemporary Theologians
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J., taught
that original sin is the sum total of false
starts and failures of the evolutionary
process, especially at the human level. It is
the negative side of evolution. Christ, the
Omega Point, brings redemption. Baptism
is necessary to attain salvation, for “each
new soul wakening into life is integrally
contaminated by the totalized influence of
all transgressions, past, present, and still
to come, which by statistical necessity are
inevitably spread throughout the human
whole as it proceeds towards sanctification” (de Chardin, 1971, 196–97).
A similar approach to the universality of
sin is through existential theology. “To be”
is “to-be-in-a-situation,” and thus each one
is intrinsically affected by that situation.
Both Karl Rahner, S.J., and Piet Schoonenberg taught that original sin is constituted
not by a catastrophic sin of the first
humans, but rather by the innumerable
personal sins of all humanity throughout
history, taken as a collectivity. This sin
touches each one existentially, through his
or her being situated in the world.
Schoonenberg gives the example of psychological and moral deformation of a
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child through its sinful environment, e.g.,
racism, long before the child has a chance
to make a free decision. Such deformation
could then be said to have affected it “by
propagation, not by imitation,” thus reinterpreting the famous expression of the
councils of Orange and Trent. All still
need the grace of Christ to be saved.
Latest Trend—Sociobiology
The roots of human behavior are found
in pre-human activity, which is primarily
survival of oneself and of one’s genes.
There is much competition in an atmosphere of the survival of the fittest, but also
cooperation, especially of animals living in
society, to preserve genes at least within
the group. Yet when humans evolve, they
are faced not only with their biological
heritage but also with a cultural one, and
the two are often at odds with one another.
If one’s biological tendency is to fight, flee,
or cooperate in a limited way, culture
might demand that one might even need to
sacrifice oneself for others who are not
members of the family or tribe.
A number of sociobiologists believe they
can explain the sense of guilt expressed in
the myth of Genesis 2–3 by contrasting the
tendency of one’s biological make-up with
the needs of society. Tensions arising
between biological and cultural evolution
are the sources of “original sin” according
to Donald T. Campbell, Ralph Wendel
Burhoe, Philip Hefner, Patricia A. Williams,
and many others.
Daryl Domning prefers to speak of
“original selfishness” instead of “original
sin,” and traces its origins to the first atom,
or at least to the first bacterium. Humans
encounter it truly “by propagation,” just
by being born into an evolutionary world.
Yet through the example and grace of
Christ they are called to transcend such
selfishness, and to include others, even the
whole world, in their love.
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Similarly Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki sees
original sin in the tendency towards violence, which characterizes humans due to
their previous evolution. They are called,
however, to create a community of wellbeing, which can be accomplished only
through interdependence and the divine
power of forgiveness. They need the grace
of Christ so that through empathy,
memory, and imagination they may bring
evolution to the next step, well-being characterized by God’s truth, love, and beauty.
Conclusion
The story of the Fall of Adam and Eve
retains its importance for the Christian
imagination. Yet its teaching must take
cognizance of evolution. The tendency of
the human heart continues to be in a negative direction, towards that which is selfish, proud, alienating, unloving, brutal,
whatever the explanation. We see its
effects every day in the news and in our
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examinations of conscience. At the same
time we are called to live lives of love,
goodness, happiness, sharing, compassion
for the whole world. Whether “original
sin” or “original selfishness,” this continues to be a mystery of human existence
and its need for the liberating and transforming example and grace of Christ.
References
de Chardin, Pierre Teilhard. Christianity
and Evolution. René Hague, trans. New
York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1971.
John Paul II. “Message to Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Evolution,” Origins,
vol. 26 (December 5, 1996) 414–16.
Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue. “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification,”
Origins, vol. 28 (July 16, 1998) 120–27.
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